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The Scissors and the Sword (World of Orochi Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Ethan Fox (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 17 ratings

Book 1 of 2: World of Orochi

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The Scissors and the Sword is the first in a new urban fantasy series, in which Jessica Cartwright, a Scene of Crime Officer, confronts creatures of Japanese myth unleashed upon modern-day London.

When blood-soaked scissors are the only clues recovered from a double-murder-scene in Hyde Park, Scene of Crime Officer Jessica Cartwright races against time to understand the evidence before the killer strikes again.

But when a sword on display at the British Museum spontaneously shatters, she is confronted with an unthinkable truth: A man from another era has a score to settle with an ancient enemy, in a clash that threatens every soul in London!

As the fate of the city hangs in the balance, can Jessica overcome a spectre of her own past in her search for answers?

Who would kill with scissors?

And who could wield a shattered sword?

The Scissors and the Sword is the beginning of the World of Orochi series of urban fantasy novels by Ethan Fox!

Editorial Reviews

Review

***** - "masterfully woven" MMO, AmazonUK
***** - "juggles the two connected plots well" Just A Teacher, Amazon
***** - "loved every minute of it" K.F., AmazonUK
**** - "a complicated and interesting combination!" D. Bratcher, Amazon

About the Author

Ethan Fox is a UK-based author of urban fantasy fiction, most notable for his World of Orochi series. His work draws upon his experiences working and living in both the UK and Japan.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B018M7NH0M
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ethan Fox; 2nd edition (December 11, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 11, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 759 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1519551649

Best Sellers Rank: #2,998,863 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #13,584 in Paranormal Suspense
- #33,471 in Supernatural Thrillers (Books)
- #50,234 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 17 ratings

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Ethan Fox

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Ethan Fox is a UK-based author of urban fantasy fiction, most notable for his World of Orochi series. His work draws upon his experiences working and living in both the UK and Japan.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

17 global ratings

1 star

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DRD

Perfect beach read for summer!

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018

This was a lovely read!
I'm busy with a full-time job, grad school and family, and this story was a wonderful gem on Kindle Unlimited.
The writing and story move along quite nicely and I could picture everything as it was happening. This would be a great beach read or vacation read! Recommended :)

Helpful

AmazonAccount685

Entertaining story bringing Japanese myth to England

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2019

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This is the story of a London police woman who comes face-to-face with some Japanese demons and who has to fight them with the help of a couple of unusual allies.

The book starts off as an intriguing mystery that gives way to a more standard urban fantasy with Japanese flavor. The heroine has no supernatural abilities, just a fighting nature and unwillingness to give up. There isn't a lot of time spent on characterization; you're told what you need and the story moves on. There aren't a lot of characters in the book either though the ones that are there are distinct and memorable.

I confess I'm puzzled by one of the other reviews on Amazon. It mentions an overuse of adverbs and telling but not showing, and either the author has re-written passages that are like that or that person posted a review under the wrong book. I looked for those signs and couldn't see anything like that. The writing was actually rather spare.

One thing that did bother me about the book was the use of Japanese terms. It made sense when the Japanese Priestess was using the terms to explain things. But what didn't make sense was when the Japanese person who never would have heard English was speaking a combination of the two languages. It seems like he would either use Japanese and everyone could understand him through magical means, or that he would suddenly be able to speak English and they would understand everything he said. But either way there wouldn't be a peppering of Japanese terms throughout his speech. It felt like watching a subtitled anime, but since this is a book it was distracting to me.

But other than that I enjoyed the adventure and found it to be nicely written. I'm looking forward to their continued adventures (note, the book is complete story but leaves room for additional stories).

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Barbara D.

A gripping supernatural thriller

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2016

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The Scissors and the Sword is a fast paced mystery/supernatural thriller. Jessica Cartwright is a British detective involved in a murder investigation.
Soon Jessica finds herself projected in an unusual investigation full of turns and twists. She has to face the revenge of a ghost with an ancient Japanese sword as her only weapon. A spirit samurai will be at her side.
Giving this a 4 instead of a perfect 5 purely out of a personal tilt, as I'm not the biggest fan of supernatural stories. Once the supernatural stuff comes into the plot, it continues in that direction for the rest of the book. I enjoyed it, just it isn't to my usual taste. I would recommend The Scissor and the Sword to lovers of mystery stories with some supernatural elements.

Helpful

John

Good read for a first book.

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2022

A good read for a first book. The story made a good connection between Shinto and English paganism. Look forward to the next in the series..

Helpful

J. Marts

Good Clash of Western & Eastern Cultures

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2018

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.

Jessica Cartwright is a Scene of Crime Officer for the London Metropolitan Police. She’s been at this specific department for six months, but she’s seasoned and thus carries the rank of Detective nspector. She is called to go over a grotesque murder scene in a park, featuring two mangled bodies and two pairs of scissors. But there are no clues, so it’s passed on to a higher department - a place where tough cases truly go cold and die.

But Jess ignores her boss Jackson’s orders to leave the case be, and is determined to delve deeper. It’s immediately obvious that scissors are linked to a significant event in her past. I feel really bad for the number of times it’s brought up, since it’s something Jess has fought hard within herself to forget.
The case is weird and seemingly impossible, even as Jess uncovers more clues as to the significance of the scissors. It also happens to be related to murders in Japan from 1979 and 1985 - famous murders, apparently.
Unfortunately, Jess is thrown off the case, and her colleague Rachel becomes more of a main secondary character.

I like how when Jess calls someone, the dialogue is given as a script. It breaks up the “monotony” of traditional prose. It’s also neat that there are multiple Japanese words and phrases that are given and (immediately) translated. Learning about some of Japanese culture is also great. It makes me appreciate Fox’s work even more

The story switches between London and Japan, though the latter is in the past, around 790 CE, and not of this world. I mean, there’s an Oni, a mountain ogre, that attacks the home of the Daimyo. But even before then, a young & newly formed Samurai named Haikaru is sent on his first mission to protect the Daimyo’s youngest daughter, Kushinada, on her first trip away from home. He shows respect for her but then lets his fear take over in his speech, showing his humanity. They’re lovers by the time the orc comes.

The magic of this lore begins to take over. This subplot confused me for about half the book, yet I knew that the sword Haikaru carries is important to Jessica’s case.
ESPECIALLY when Japanese diplomats bring a Samurai sword to be part of the Japanese exhibits at the British museum.
And when the fact that “Samurai are cursed to be reborn as Samurai” is constantly repeated.

The London Shinto Culture Centre sounds peaceful, serene, and beautiful.
Through the Shinto culture of Japanese life, both the reader and Jess learn more about the spirit world as Japanese see it. Sense it. Believe it.
And here, experience it.

It’s not just Jess or the two random victims who deal with past repercussions, but others in town. It leads to some intense scenes that kept me reading and immersed me in the Haikaru subplot.

It was good but I likely won’t be continuing with the series.

Helpful

D. Bratcher

Old Mystery Meets New Mystery

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2015

I would like to have rated this 4 1/2 stars.... but that isn't an option. This is a VERY interesting book. Well-written, well-thought-out, creative, with well developed characters with intriguing challenges. There are 2, maybe 2 1/2, stories being told here - and while there is much concerning crime, crime isn't the main or major part of the story, I would say MYSTERY is the "main thing". It keeps you very involved, keeps you wondering and thinking [a favorite of mine] , keeps giving you more info, and keeps it all interesting. We have ancient lands with Samurai and princesses, and lots of mythology - and we have present-day London, England - a complicated and interesting combination!
The people all seem real - their thinking feels very like my thoughts would likely be in their place.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! ( I read an author-sent copy rather than purchasing, but I will definitely be buying his next book because I liked this one so much!)

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Top reviews from other countries

EtaiYazi

I decided to take a chance on this book and I’m glad I did

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2017

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Although not my genre of choice, I decided to take a chance on this book and I’m glad I did! I wasn’t initially sure of quite what to expect, but perhaps that’s part of the appeal. The Scissors and the Sword, is something a bit different. A wonderfully unique and nuanced take on the mystery genre, with elements of the supernatural skilfully woven in. It’s well paced and thoughtful, with a narrative that is both easy and enjoyable to digest. I highly recommend picking it up.

MMO

A great debut!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2015

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A great début read from this talented author, artfully blending English and Japanese cultures and showing a clear understanding of both. The mystery central to the book is masterfully woven and keeps you guessing along the whole journey rather than leaving you frustrated at the main characters for not picking up on the clues that you've long seen.

Ethan Fox shows obvious promise and I look forward to more great reads!

K.F.

... all in one day on a long journey and loved every minute of it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2015

Verified Purchase

Read this all in one day on a long journey and loved every minute of it.

This was an enjoyable debut novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

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The Scissors and the Sword (World of Orochi Book 1) Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

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Ethan Fox

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